The city of Modesto has agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle allegations of sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation filed by a Sacramento law firm on behalf of three female employees.

The settlement was confirmed by Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Roger Beauchesne on Monday. The women were represented by Susan Kirkgaard, a trial attorney at Diepenbrock Harrison who specializes in employment law.

  City employees Karin Rodriguez, Jocelyn Reed and Debra Eggerman alleged that high-level managers in the city created a workplace that discriminated against and was hostile to women.

The women complained they were denied promotions and pay equal to their male counterparts, in violation of state law. When they reported the problems to city officials, the city did nothing to stop the discrimination and harassment; instead retaliating against them, the women alleged.

"Unfortunately, gender disparity has historically been a systemic problem within the city," Kirkgaard said in a prepared statement. "During the time we have been fighting this war, we have seen the city attorney, city manager and a number of deputy directors leave the city's employment -- and I believe it to be caused in part by the claims we were raising."

The city settled the case to avoid complex and protracted litigation, said litigation counsel Shelline K. Bennett. The city did not admit liability.

"This resolution provides an opportunity to conclude a difficult chapter so that the organization can move forward," city manager George Britton said in a prepared statement.

Nacchio and other executives also face a class action lawsuit and civil charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Another former Qwest employee, ex-Vice President Marc Weisberg, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December 2005 and agreed to help prosecutors build a case against Nacchio.

- In Vermont, middle school student Zachary Guiles wore a T-shirt that used images of cocaine use and a martini glass to criticize President Bush. The shirt also called Bush "chicken-hawk-in-chief" and said he was on a "world domination tour."

School authorities said the shirt violated a dress code that bans clothing that promotes use of alcohol or drugs. Guiles taped over the images, sued and won rulings from lower federal courts. The Supreme Court has yet to act on the school district's appeal.

- In suburban San Diego, Tyler Harper was pulled from his class for wearing a T-shirt bearing the words "homosexuality is shameful." Harper said he wore the shirt after his school backed an event meant to show support for homosexuals, bisexuals and trans-gender students.

Harper sued the Poway Unified School District for violating his civil rights, contending he was suspended for expressing "sincerely held religious beliefs." The school said its dress code is designed to prevent disruption.

A federal judge upheld the policy and the same federal appeals court that sided with Frederick now is considering the case.

- A national Christian legal group sued a suburban Philadelphia school district on free-speech grounds, saying the district censors prayer club members and threatens discipline if students speak out against homosexuality.

The lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defense Fund accuses the Downingtown Area School District of improperly forcing a student group to drop explicitly Christian or Scriptural references from its literature, and to meet as the "Prayer Club" instead of the preferred "Bible Club."

Following the 25-year sentence in federal prison, Young will face five years of supervised release for operating a prostitution ring spanning from Michigan to Hawaii. Young recruited and directed females – including minors – to engage in prostitution. Young transported women and children and facilitated their transportation across state lines by car and airplane. Young reaped substantial financial benefit and laundered the proceeds of his illegal prostitution activities with the help of co-conspirators.

Young’s sentencing comes after his plea of guilt to 26 offenses including sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity, transportation for prostitution, sexual exploitation of children, possession and interstate distribution of child pornography, threatening interstate communications, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, felon in possession of a firearm, money laundering, and use of an interstate facility in aid of racketeering. In addition, Young was also convicted of producing and distributing child pornography for his use on a Web site to advertise the availability of his prostitutes including a 17-year-old-girl he exploited.

As part of his sentence, Young was also ordered to forfeit property gained through and used in furtherance of his crimes including computer equipment, furs, clothing, jewelry, electronics and cash.

Young’s co-conspirators have also been convicted of their role in the prostitution operation. Young’s Honolulu associates, Mark Luke White and Hae Sun Kim face sentencing later this year. Jeffrey McCoy, one of Young’s co-defendants pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Hawaii earlier this year. A second Detroit associate, George Abro, who laundered the proceeds and assisted in the prostitution ring, pleaded guilty to federal offenses in October 2006 and will be sentenced later this year as well. A Chicago dentist, Dr. Gary Kimmel, is under indictment and charged with financial offenses related to his support of Young's organization and is scheduled for trial in September 2007.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, Michigan State Police, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS, the Detroit Major Crimes Task Force, the Detroit Police Department, and the Macomb County Enforcement Team.

In Hawaii, the investigation was led by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force comprised of members from the State Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Honolulu Police Department with substantial assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Porter of the District of Hawaii.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kayla Bakshi of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney John O’Brien of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Porter for the District of Hawaii. In the spring of 2003, the Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Section of FBI headquarters, in partnership with CEOS and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, initiated the Innocence Lost Initiative, designed to address the growing problem of children forced into prostitution. To date, the Innocence Lost Initiative has resulted in 275 open investigations, 697 arrests, 160 informations or indictments, and 136 convictions in the federal and state systems.

Hicks waived her right to jury trial in open court before U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Droney. She faces a maximum penalty of up to life in prison and a fine of up to $1.25 million. “Sex trafficking is an abhorrent crime that too often occurs in our own backyards, and too often victimizes children,” said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “It is a top priority of the Justice Department to root out and prosecute those who so ruthlessly victimize others.”

“The charges to which this defendant admitted her guilt clearly show that prostitution is not a victimless crime,” said, Kevin J. O’Connor, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. “The federal government is committed to prosecuting sex trafficking crimes, particularly when minors are abused and women are forced to commit sexual acts against their will and under the threat of violence.”

Human trafficking prosecutions are a top priority of the Department. In the last six fiscal years, the Civil Rights Division, in conjunction with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, has increased by six-fold the number of human trafficking cases filed in court.  In 2006, the Department obtained a record number of convictions in human trafficking prosecutions. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hartford and Windsor Police Departments, and the Internal Revenue Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Genco and Andrew J. Kline of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

The split three-judge opinion from Judge Harry Pregerson expressed sympathy for some arguments by plaintiff Angel Raich, 41, an Oakland resident whose doctor testified she could die if she stopped smoking pot. But the ruling backed the 1970 federal Controlled Substances Act barring marijuana.

Raich, who suffers from many ailments, says marijuana keeps her alive by easing pain and bolstering appetite.

"Today I found out I am basically a dead man walking," Raich, who once worked as an accountant and massage therapist, told Reuters. "Today the court said I don't have the constitutional right to basically stay alive."

The mother of two said U.S. officials had never moved to arrest her or bar her from using marijuana and said she would continue to do so every two hours. "I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't," she said.

Raich said she would lobby Congress in Washington to change U.S. law. The court said use of the drug for medical purposes was gaining support but federal law still banned it.

"We agree with Raich that medical and conventional wisdom that recognizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes is gaining traction in the law as well," the judge wrote.

The ruling acknowledged the law could change if legislators reconsider the issue.

"Although that day has not yet dawned, considering that during the last 10 years 11 states have legalized the use of medical marijuana, that day may be upon on us sooner than expected," Pregerson said.

Voters in California, the nation's most populous state, became the first to approve medical marijuana in 1996, putting it in direct conflict with federal law. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has admitting using marijuana in the past.